Trends Changing How You Hire in 2018 and Beyond

1. Diversity is the new global mindset

Diversity used to be a box that companies checked. But today, diversity is directly tied to company culture and financial performance. Our data shows that 78% of companies prioritize diversity to improve culture and 62% do so to boost financial performance.

Key forces are at play here: changing demographics are diversifying our communities, shrinking talent pools for companies that don’t adapt. Growing evidence that diverse teams are more productive, more innovative, and more engaged also makes it hard to ignore

2. Reinventing the interview process with new tools that allow you to understand candidates better

Traditional interviews are not going anywhere any time soon, but they have been proven to be an ineffective way to read candidates. They can even undercut the impact of more useful information and introduce more bias.

For example, attractive and charismatic interviewees aren’t necessarily more capable, but we unconsciously assume they are. In our survey, respondents noted the bias problem in traditional interviews as well as their limited ability to assess soft skills and weaknesses. It’s hard to evaluate grit in a candidate or spot disorganization simply by having a chat.

3. Data is the new corporate superpower

Talent acquisition has always been a people profession. But nowadays it’s a numbers profession too. Our research shows that most recruiters and hiring managers use data in their work now and even more are likely to use it in the next two years.

Now, it’s true — data informing talent decisions isn’t a new concept. But what is new is the volume of data available and the speed with which it can be analyzed. What’s new is that data can be used to predict hiring outcomes, not just track them. What’s new is that data can power machines to make smarter recruiting decisions for you, a.k.a. Artificial intelligence (AI).

The most sophisticated companies are piecing together every bit of data they have to try to compete. Just as they might have a social media strategy or an events strategy, they now have a talent intelligence strategy too.